Liam let out a sigh. I can’t really complain since it wasn’t a for sure thing I would come here. However… Liam looked at Chad and felt a small bit of irritation forming within the pit of his stomach. Did she really have to get with a total…dick like this guy?
Mila was about to say something until Liam put a hand up to forestall her from saying anything.
Liam then looked at Knox and Waylon who had snuck a glance at him. He noticed the look on their faces and was starting to grow a bit irritated with them. Just moments ago they were talking about seeing if he would be able to fit in with their party, but they never mentioned she was in it as well. Were they going to tell him that she was at all? Were they going to inform him that she moved on and got with this guy?
Maybe they would have eventually. Especially if he went with them and met up with the others. Maybe they were hoping he would refuse to join them? Knox looked excited to have him join so it couldn’t be that. Maybe they weren’t going to say anything and hoped this guy would slip up? If they were hoping for that then this guy did as they wanted.
Cindy and Alv eyed Liam. Alv looked like he was confused while Cindy looked like she was trying to piece a puzzle together.
“Liam, we…,” Waylon started to say until Liam looked at him.
Waylon looked like he was struggling to find the right words.
Seeing the struggle in his friend’s expression, Liam decided to question, “It seems like the healer of your group is against me joining your party. Does he speak for you guys?”
Knox stiffened a bit as he heard the tone in the question. He then replied, “He does not.”
Waylon nodded, agreeing with Knox’s words. “You are our friend. We’ve been hoping that you would appear one day and have saved an opening for you all this time.”
“You can’t be serious,” Chad argued while narrowing his eyes at Waylon.
“I am,” Waylon stated as he looked at him. “This was discussed and agreed upon before you ever joined us. You don’t have the authority to overrule it. I don’t know if you remember, but you are not the leader of our party.”
Chad scoffed as his face started to redden. “After I joined and before we got big enough to start recruiting, we all agreed that we would vote on if a person could join us. We have agreed on the rules and requirements a person would have to meet if they were to join us or not.”
“We did agree on putting a vote up when it came to new members joining us,” Knox stated, “Albeit, if I recall correctly it was you who wanted to place rules and requirements on those interested in joining, not us.”
“I did so because we have to be careful who we let join,” Chad interjected. He then shifted his gaze on Liam while scowling, “I suggested them because we can’t just let anyone join us. We are famous and trying to get recruited into that guild. In order for us not to be overlooked we need to make sure we don’t have anyone who will…make us less appealing.”
“What’s your problem man?” Knox asked as he watched Chad stare at Liam.
“What do you mean?” Chad asked. “I’m just trying to protect…”
“Don’t play dumb,” Knox interrupted. “You’re normally not this hostile. Since you got here you’ve been nothing but hostile to Liam.”
“That’s because I caught this man trying to steal our stuff,” Chad said as he whipped a finger at Liam.
Everyone at the table turned to look at Liam while looking confused.
Waylon looked back at Chad and stated, “He wouldn’t do that.”
“How would you know? You weren’t there,” Chad argued.
“Because out of everyone here, Liam is the one person who would never do something as petty or stupid as steal,” Knox informed.
Liam felt happy his two friends were sticking up for him. However, it didn’t help the guilt that had suddenly formed within him. While it was true before all the hecticness had happened back on Earth, he would never do something like steal. After the confirmed apocalypse started…that was a different story. One he didn’t want his friends or family knowing about. Not that or…the other things he had no choice but do.
“You’re blinded by your so called friendship,” Chad argued. “You haven’t seen him for how many years? People change. Just ask Gimmel here.”
Gimmel? Liam thought, thinking the name sounded familiar for some reason. Why does that name sound so familiar?
Knox and Waylon gave Chad a confused look.
“Who is Gimmel?” Waylon asked.
“My go…,” Chad started to say, but stopped as he coughed. “A prospect I found a couple days ago. He came to me and asked if he could join our party after hearing how great we are.”
Waylon and Knox looked at each other while making a puzzled expression. They then saw the teenaged boy who was standing next to Chad. Liam noticed their puzzled expressions turned into one that said they had just noticed the boy there for the first time.
Knox tilted his head a bit before looking at Chad and asking, “Why does he have a backpack full of stuff…wait…” Knox squinted his eyes as he looked a little closer at an item that was poking out from the backpack. “Is that one of my armor pieces that I left with the blacksmith to repair?”
“Yeah,” Chad said as a smile started growing. “I told him if he ran and got our stuff for us I would introduce him to you guys. He’s very helpful and has already proven himself as a team player by helping us out. Unlike someone.”
Waylon let out a sigh of irritation before looking at Chad. “First off, why are you having him run our errands. The very same errands you were in charge of this trip. Second why is he carrying a bag that looks like it’s about to explode? Why isn’t he carrying them in his inventory? And lastly, why are you telling a teenager that you will introduce him as a prospect if he does your errands? It goes against what we were talking about earlier when it comes to new recruits.”
“I was told that by carrying this bag on my back and not place any in my inventory then it would show how trustful I can be,” Gimmel suddenly chimed in, giving them a big smile.
Knox shook his head as Waylon let out a sigh.
Before they could say anything, Chad interrupted, “We’re going off track here. You’re forgetting that I said this guy tried stealing our stuff off of Gimmel the other day.”
“I wasn’t stealing from him,” Liam finally said. “I had accidentally bumped into him, saw that he was carrying a heavy load and gave him a hand.”
“So, you admit you laid your hands on our…,” Chad started to say.
“I didn’t touch the bag,” Liam said as he glared at Chad. “I used a spell to help lighten his load. After I did that you came up and started falsely accusing me of trying to steal.”
“A likely story,” Chad stated.
“Well, let’s ask the boy then,” Knox suddenly suggested. “He was there when it happened.” He then looked at Gimmel and asked, “What happened? Did Liam try to steal from you or did he use…” Knox suddenly looked at Liam with a puzzled expression. “What spell did you use?”
“Feathery Upforce,” Liam answered. “It’s a Gravity spell that can lighten objects making it easier to move around.”
“You know Gravity Magic?” Waylon asked.
“I didn’t know there was a spell like that,” Knox stated looking impressed.
“It’s a spell that while in the single digit levels can only be cast on weapons, but after I got it to level ten it mentioned it could be used on items other than weapons,” Liam explained. “I wasn’t sure if it would work so I tried it since he was insistent on not putting that bag in his inventory.”
“You already have a magic passed level ten?” Waylon said looking astonished.
“I have a few spells pass level ten,” Liam replied.
“That’s good to know,” Knox stated with a grin. “Already proving yourself to be a hard worker.” He then looked back at Gimmel and continued, “Did he use that spell to help you?”
“Yes sir,” Gimmel stated. “He used that Feathery Upforce spell and it did make the bag easier to move around with. However, right after he did that Mr. Chad appeared and thought he was trying to steal.”
“But he wasn’t, was he?” Waylon asked.
Gimmel shook his head. “No, he wasn’t.”
Liam saw Chad slowly turn his gaze on Gimmel. He recognized the anger that was seething behind his stare even though his facial features didn’t give it away.
Waylon and Knox turned their attention towards Chad, who looked back at them.
“You jumped the gun again didn’t you?” Waylon asked.
“Whatever. No matter what I say you are going to be on your friend’s side,” Chad stated with a scowl. “If it comes down to a vote you know what mine will be. I’m sure Zoe will have the same vote as well.”
Mila’s brow raised. “Are you sure about that?”
“Mila,” Liam quietly said to her.
Mila looked at him. As she did, she noticed the look he was giving her and understood.
“What do you mean by that?” Chad questioned. “Who are you anyways? I don’t remember seeing a pitiful woman like you being so friendly with us.”
“She’s my cousin and is also friends with Waylon and Knox,” Liam stated.
Chad scoffed. He then muttered as quietly as he could, “Just another piece of shit trying to get buddy buddy with their betters.”
Liam’s eyes narrowed as his hands tightened into fists. Liam knew Chad said it as quietly as he could thinking that no one would have been able to hear him. However, the elf had forgotten there were races that had better hearing than the others. He looked at Alv and noticed that his eyes had narrowed.
“Excuse you,” Alv suddenly stated. His voice was deep and had a threatening tone to it. “Watch what you say, you god damn elf.”
Mila, Knox, Gimmel, and Waylon turned to look at him.
“What happened?” Waylon asked with a confused look.
Before Alv and Chad could say anything, Liam informed with a calm yet eerie tone of voice, “He just called Mila a piece of shit.”
Chad looked at Liam and grew confused.
“Is that true Chad?” Waylon asked as he looked at him.
Chad kept his attention on Liam, looking like he was trying to figure something out.
Liam understood what he was trying to solve. Alv and Cindy were Beast-kins so it was easy to understand how they were able to hear him, but he didn’t know Liam had the same racial benefits as them since he didn’t have any physical features showing that he was the same as them, albeit only half.
As Liam stared back at him, he recognized a feeling that was starting to grow within him. It was one thing for him to look down and talk crap about him. It was another when he did it to someone who was family to him.
Liam stood up and slowly walked towards Chad. Not taking his eyes off of him. Each step he took as he got closer, Liam felt his mana start to channel. It wasn’t channeling because he had called upon it, but rather it was responding to a feeling. A feeling that seemed to activate a certain spell.
He forced himself to stop the spell from activating. The spell fought back from being stopped, which surprised Liam. It wanted to pour out from him as he made his way towards Chad. It wanted to cover this person and make him understand that he was the piece of shit.
Chad straightened his posture and stood tall as Liam stood right in front of him.
“You’re probably wondering why I was able to hear what you said,” Liam started. “You probably understood why not only Alv, but also Cindy was able to hear you. It’s because they are Beast-kins and everyone knows that their hearing is better than most races. However, what you didn’t know was I have the same racial benefits as them.”
Chad’s eyes narrowed as he heard Liam. His brain started working overtime as he tried to figure out what he meant. “Are you saying you are a dir…”
“I’d watch your next words carefully,” Liam softly warned. He then lowered his sunglasses enough for Chad to see two slit irises and pupils staring daggers at him. For an added emphasis, he allowed his Hubris Aura to finally pulse out from him and cover Chad’s entire body as he stated, “I can handle people talking bad about me, but I wont stand for anyone talking shit about my family or friends.”
Liam watched as Chad’s facial expressions slightly changed as the spell washed over him. The changes weren’t pronounced, but he could see a small bit of doubt and some…fear. However, both emotions were quickly rebuffed after a couple of seconds had passed.
The mana that was channeling over Liam had retracted right as the spell was stopped. As Liam put his sunglasses back over his eyes, he noticed anger start to wash over Chad’s face.
“You dare try to intimidate me with magic?” Chad glowered. “You don’t know your place. I am a Welkin Healer. I can easily cancel out any weak ass spell you can use.”
Everyone at the table looked confused as they heard Chad.
“Did any of you feel him use a spell?” Knox asked.
“I felt him channel some mana, but I didn’t feel any spells used,” Waylon stated.
“Look why don’t you guys calm down. You both got off on the wrong foot. I’m sure if you got to know each other better then maybe….,” Knox started to say.
“Don’t try and cover for this asshole,” Mila stated with some irritation in her voice.
Knox was about to say something, but was stopped as Liam asked while keeping his gaze on Chad, “Let me ask you guys something.”
Waylon and Knox turned to look at him.
“If I said I wouldn’t join your guys’ party unless you kicked him out…would you guys do it?” Liam inquired.
Knox and Waylon didn’t respond. They looked like they wanted to say something, but instead remained silent.
“Just like I thought,” Liam said with some disappointment in his tone.
“Of course they wouldn’t,” Chad smiled wickedly, looking like he just won a battle. “Why would they toss out a damn good healer for…what? A rogue?”
“Not a rogue,” Liam snapped back.
“If not a rogue then what?” Chad questioned.
“I’m a Crafter,” Liam stated.
Knox and the others stared at Liam. Confusion grew on Cindy’s face as she stared at him after hearing his words. No one said anything. Liam wasn’t sure if it was because they didn’t hear him or if they were trying to figure out what to say.
After a few seconds passed, Chad let out a laugh. “Of course you would be. That only increases my earlier statement. If a party had to choose between having a Healer, someone totally essential during a fight and a Crafter, someone who isn’t even a combat oriented class…of course they’d pick the healer. Too bad for you. However… I can be the bigger person and allow you to join our party if you agreed to work on our equipment for free. Maybe supply us with potions since that would be the only good thing you’d be worth.”
Liam’s eyes narrowed. Before he could make any remarks, he finally heard Knox say something.
“I’m sorry Liam…,” Knox started. The tone of his voice was apologetic and hesitant. “We can’t have someone who doesn’t have a combat orient class join the party.”
Liam turned to look at him. He could see both Knox and Waylon were avoiding looking at him.
“We can have you as a support member, but not as a party member who can enter dungeons,” Waylon clarified, still not looking at him.
Liam wasn’t sure how they would respond. He knew his question was out of line to begin with. To ask to choose between a friend and someone who had a class that was useful when taking on dungeons…it was a childish thing to ask. However, it didn’t stop him from doing it.
Somewhere deep within him, he felt that maybe his friends would at least say something along the lines that it didn’t matter. That maybe they would say that they didn’t care about his class and they would still have him regardless of what others thought.
What he didn’t expect was the looks they currently had. Like he was someone who couldn’t experience what they did on a daily basis. Like his class was one that was totally useless.
They are writing me off. Liam thought as he stared at them. They are acting like I don’t have what it takes to hold my own in a fight. That if I entered a dungeon I wouldn’t be able to keep up with them or anyone else.
He knew he could hold his own in a fight. He proved that when taking on the Tutorial Dungeon with his old teammates.
That thought made him think of Ariyana, Artem, Avery, Blair, Mercer, and Roman. If they were here and heard this… Liam started to think, but then shook his head stopping the thought process.
He knew they would speak up. Stop these guys from thinking he was useless. That his only worth was to tend to their equipment or be a potion producing machine for them. However, the truth was they weren’t here. They were who knows where doing whatever they want. Their teaming up might have started in the Tutorial Area, but it essentially ended there as well.
This was a big world. They could have formed teams and started making new connections with new people. These thoughts sunk in, making Liam see his situation in a new light.
“I’m sorry, but…,” Liam started as he took a deep breath in, trying to hold back the emotions that started to swirl inside him.
“You guys are so stupid,” Cindy suddenly stated. “Especially you Elf.”
Everyone turned to look at her. Some had completely forgotten she was there since she had remained silent during their entire conversation.
Chad narrowed his eyes. “What makes you say that cat.”
Cindy narrowed her eyes at him. “I’d be careful what you say. Did you forget where you’re at?”
Chad looked around and suddenly remembered that there were other beast-kins around and that he was essentially in their territory.
Before he could reply, Cindy started back up, “You’re making a mistake looking down on crafters.” She then looked at Liam and added, “Liam, you don’t need to lower yourself to being a support member to a haughty good for nothing blowhard or their party.”
“I agree,” Mila stated as she gave Cindy a smile.
“What did you just say?” Chad questioned as his face started to redden.
“You heard me,” Cindy stated, her face hardened with resolve. She then stood up and added, “Liam, you don’t need their pity nor their sympathy. Go ahead and step outside, I’m going to get our food to go. I’ll meet you outside.”
“Alright,” Liam said as he stared at her. He was both confused and surprised by her outburst.
As he started to walk away, Waylon suddenly said, “Liam…”
Liam turned to look at him. He could see the emotions warring inside of him as he tried to figure out what to say.
“Are you sure you about this?” Waylon finally said.
Liam regarded him. He then nodded as he said, “I am…I don’t plan on being reduced to being someone’s, anyone’s personal product maker. Even if they are my friends.”
Before anyone could say anything else, he made his way to the door.
Gimmel watched as Liam made his way to the door. After coming to a decision, he slide the backpack off and followed.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Standing far in the back of the room, a person watched as Liam walked outside. Anger stirred within this person. They clamped down on it, trying not to allow the emotion to overwhelm them.
They knew that emotion would not do any good for them, especially since it was one they weren’t tied to. Allowing themselves to let that emotion take control would only cause trouble to their plans and destroy all the work they had put into place after all these years.
However, the feeling they felt for that brief moment had caused the storm both in their mind and blood to run wild. The urge to kill was strong. To kill the one who had committed a terrible sin.
They took a deep breath in, trying to calm themselves. After a few breaths they were finally able to calm their mind and blood. It wasn’t completely gone though, for this feeling that had sprouted was one that could only be remedied through the death of the sinner. But they wouldn’t make a move…not yet at least. They had a job to do. And do it they shall without any blunder or mistakes.
Their target was on the move now. Now that they were on the move, they too needed to move. To report what they had learned and make plans and adjustments to where it was needed. They will take care of that now. However, after that…after that they will see what they can do to correct the evil that was happening.
Liam let out a sigh. I can’t really complain since it wasn’t a for sure thing I would come here. However… Liam looked at Chad and felt a small bit of irritation forming within the pit of his stomach. Did she really have to get with a total…dick like this guy?
Mila was about to say something until Liam put a hand up to forestall her from saying anything.
Liam then looked at Knox and Waylon who had snuck a glance at him. He noticed the look on their faces and was starting to grow a bit irritated with them. Just moments ago they were talking about seeing if he would be able to fit in with their party, but they never mentioned she was in it as well. Were they going to tell him that she was at all? Were they going to inform him that she moved on and got with this guy?
Maybe they would have eventually. Especially if he went with them and met up with the others. Maybe they were hoping he would refuse to join them? Knox looked excited to have him join so it couldn’t be that. Maybe they weren’t going to say anything and hoped this guy would slip up? If they were hoping for that then this guy did as they wanted.
Cindy and Alv eyed Liam. Alv looked like he was confused while Cindy looked like she was trying to piece a puzzle together.
“Liam, we…,” Waylon started to say until Liam looked at him.
Waylon looked like he was struggling to find the right words.
Seeing the struggle in his friend’s expression, Liam decided to question, “It seems like the healer of your group is against me joining your party. Does he speak for you guys?”
Knox stiffened a bit as he heard the tone in the question. He then replied, “He does not.”
Waylon nodded, agreeing with Knox’s words. “You are our friend. We’ve been hoping that you would appear one day and have saved an opening for you all this time.”
“You can’t be serious,” Chad argued while narrowing his eyes at Waylon.
“I am,” Waylon stated as he looked at him. “This was discussed and agreed upon before you ever joined us. You don’t have the authority to overrule it. I don’t know if you remember, but you are not the leader of our party.”
Chad scoffed as his face started to redden. “After I joined and before we got big enough to start recruiting, we all agreed that we would vote on if a person could join us. We have agreed on the rules and requirements a person would have to meet if they were to join us or not.”
“We did agree on putting a vote up when it came to new members joining us,” Knox stated, “Albeit, if I recall correctly it was you who wanted to place rules and requirements on those interested in joining, not us.”
“I did so because we have to be careful who we let join,” Chad interjected. He then shifted his gaze on Liam while scowling, “I suggested them because we can’t just let anyone join us. We are famous and trying to get recruited into that guild. In order for us not to be overlooked we need to make sure we don’t have anyone who will…make us less appealing.”
“What’s your problem man?” Knox asked as he watched Chad stare at Liam.
“What do you mean?” Chad asked. “I’m just trying to protect…”
“Don’t play dumb,” Knox interrupted. “You’re normally not this hostile. Since you got here you’ve been nothing but hostile to Liam.”
“That’s because I caught this man trying to steal our stuff,” Chad said as he whipped a finger at Liam.
Everyone at the table turned to look at Liam while looking confused.
Waylon looked back at Chad and stated, “He wouldn’t do that.”
“How would you know? You weren’t there,” Chad argued.
“Because out of everyone here, Liam is the one person who would never do something as petty or stupid as steal,” Knox informed.
Liam felt happy his two friends were sticking up for him. However, it didn’t help the guilt that had suddenly formed within him. While it was true before all the hecticness had happened back on Earth, he would never do something like steal. After the confirmed apocalypse started…that was a different story. One he didn’t want his friends or family knowing about. Not that or…the other things he had no choice but do.
“You’re blinded by your so called friendship,” Chad argued. “You haven’t seen him for how many years? People change. Just ask Gimmel here.”
Gimmel? Liam thought, thinking the name sounded familiar for some reason. Why does that name sound so familiar?
Knox and Waylon gave Chad a confused look.
“Who is Gimmel?” Waylon asked.
“My go…,” Chad started to say, but stopped as he coughed. “A prospect I found a couple days ago. He came to me and asked if he could join our party after hearing how great we are.”
Waylon and Knox looked at each other while making a puzzled expression. They then saw the teenaged boy who was standing next to Chad. Liam noticed their puzzled expressions turned into one that said they had just noticed the boy there for the first time.
Knox tilted his head a bit before looking at Chad and asking, “Why does he have a backpack full of stuff…wait…” Knox squinted his eyes as he looked a little closer at an item that was poking out from the backpack. “Is that one of my armor pieces that I left with the blacksmith to repair?”
“Yeah,” Chad said as a smile started growing. “I told him if he ran and got our stuff for us I would introduce him to you guys. He’s very helpful and has already proven himself as a team player by helping us out. Unlike someone.”
Waylon let out a sigh of irritation before looking at Chad. “First off, why are you having him run our errands. The very same errands you were in charge of this trip. Second why is he carrying a bag that looks like it’s about to explode? Why isn’t he carrying them in his inventory? And lastly, why are you telling a teenager that you will introduce him as a prospect if he does your errands? It goes against what we were talking about earlier when it comes to new recruits.”
“I was told that by carrying this bag on my back and not place any in my inventory then it would show how trustful I can be,” Gimmel suddenly chimed in, giving them a big smile.
Knox shook his head as Waylon let out a sigh.
Before they could say anything, Chad interrupted, “We’re going off track here. You’re forgetting that I said this guy tried stealing our stuff off of Gimmel the other day.”
“I wasn’t stealing from him,” Liam finally said. “I had accidentally bumped into him, saw that he was carrying a heavy load and gave him a hand.”
“So, you admit you laid your hands on our…,” Chad started to say.
“I didn’t touch the bag,” Liam said as he glared at Chad. “I used a spell to help lighten his load. After I did that you came up and started falsely accusing me of trying to steal.”
“A likely story,” Chad stated.
“Well, let’s ask the boy then,” Knox suddenly suggested. “He was there when it happened.” He then looked at Gimmel and asked, “What happened? Did Liam try to steal from you or did he use…” Knox suddenly looked at Liam with a puzzled expression. “What spell did you use?”
“Feathery Upforce,” Liam answered. “It’s a Gravity spell that can lighten objects making it easier to move around.”
“You know Gravity Magic?” Waylon asked.
“I didn’t know there was a spell like that,” Knox stated looking impressed.
“It’s a spell that while in the single digit levels can only be cast on weapons, but after I got it to level ten it mentioned it could be used on items other than weapons,” Liam explained. “I wasn’t sure if it would work so I tried it since he was insistent on not putting that bag in his inventory.”
“You already have a magic passed level ten?” Waylon said looking astonished.
“I have a few spells pass level ten,” Liam replied.
“That’s good to know,” Knox stated with a grin. “Already proving yourself to be a hard worker.” He then looked back at Gimmel and continued, “Did he use that spell to help you?”
“Yes sir,” Gimmel stated. “He used that Feathery Upforce spell and it did make the bag easier to move around with. However, right after he did that Mr. Chad appeared and thought he was trying to steal.”
“But he wasn’t, was he?” Waylon asked.
Gimmel shook his head. “No, he wasn’t.”
Liam saw Chad slowly turn his gaze on Gimmel. He recognized the anger that was seething behind his stare even though his facial features didn’t give it away.
Waylon and Knox turned their attention towards Chad, who looked back at them.
“You jumped the gun again didn’t you?” Waylon asked.
“Whatever. No matter what I say you are going to be on your friend’s side,” Chad stated with a scowl. “If it comes down to a vote you know what mine will be. I’m sure Zoe will have the same vote as well.”
Mila’s brow raised. “Are you sure about that?”
“Mila,” Liam quietly said to her.
Mila looked at him. As she did, she noticed the look he was giving her and understood.
“What do you mean by that?” Chad questioned. “Who are you anyways? I don’t remember seeing a pitiful woman like you being so friendly with us.”
“She’s my cousin and is also friends with Waylon and Knox,” Liam stated.
Chad scoffed. He then muttered as quietly as he could, “Just another piece of shit trying to get buddy buddy with their betters.”
Liam’s eyes narrowed as his hands tightened into fists. Liam knew Chad said it as quietly as he could thinking that no one would have been able to hear him. However, the elf had forgotten there were races that had better hearing than the others. He looked at Alv and noticed that his eyes had narrowed.
“Excuse you,” Alv suddenly stated. His voice was deep and had a threatening tone to it. “Watch what you say, you god damn elf.”
Mila, Knox, Gimmel, and Waylon turned to look at him.
“What happened?” Waylon asked with a confused look.
Before Alv and Chad could say anything, Liam informed with a calm yet eerie tone of voice, “He just called Mila a piece of shit.”
Chad looked at Liam and grew confused.
“Is that true Chad?” Waylon asked as he looked at him.
Chad kept his attention on Liam, looking like he was trying to figure something out.
Liam understood what he was trying to solve. Alv and Cindy were Beast-kins so it was easy to understand how they were able to hear him, but he didn’t know Liam had the same racial benefits as them since he didn’t have any physical features showing that he was the same as them, albeit only half.
As Liam stared back at him, he recognized a feeling that was starting to grow within him. It was one thing for him to look down and talk crap about him. It was another when he did it to someone who was family to him.
Liam stood up and slowly walked towards Chad. Not taking his eyes off of him. Each step he took as he got closer, Liam felt his mana start to channel. It wasn’t channeling because he had called upon it, but rather it was responding to a feeling. A feeling that seemed to activate a certain spell.
He forced himself to stop the spell from activating. The spell fought back from being stopped, which surprised Liam. It wanted to pour out from him as he made his way towards Chad. It wanted to cover this person and make him understand that he was the piece of shit.
Chad straightened his posture and stood tall as Liam stood right in front of him.
“You’re probably wondering why I was able to hear what you said,” Liam started. “You probably understood why not only Alv, but also Cindy was able to hear you. It’s because they are Beast-kins and everyone knows that their hearing is better than most races. However, what you didn’t know was I have the same racial benefits as them.”
Chad’s eyes narrowed as he heard Liam. His brain started working overtime as he tried to figure out what he meant. “Are you saying you are a dir…”
“I’d watch your next words carefully,” Liam softly warned. He then lowered his sunglasses enough for Chad to see two slit irises and pupils staring daggers at him. For an added emphasis, he allowed his Hubris Aura to finally pulse out from him and cover Chad’s entire body as he stated, “I can handle people talking bad about me, but I wont stand for anyone talking shit about my family or friends.”
Liam watched as Chad’s facial expressions slightly changed as the spell washed over him. The changes weren’t pronounced, but he could see a small bit of doubt and some…fear. However, both emotions were quickly rebuffed after a couple of seconds had passed.
The mana that was channeling over Liam had retracted right as the spell was stopped. As Liam put his sunglasses back over his eyes, he noticed anger start to wash over Chad’s face.
“You dare try to intimidate me with magic?” Chad glowered. “You don’t know your place. I am a Welkin Healer. I can easily cancel out any weak ass spell you can use.”
Everyone at the table looked confused as they heard Chad.
“Did any of you feel him use a spell?” Knox asked.
“I felt him channel some mana, but I didn’t feel any spells used,” Waylon stated.
“Look why don’t you guys calm down. You both got off on the wrong foot. I’m sure if you got to know each other better then maybe….,” Knox started to say.
“Don’t try and cover for this asshole,” Mila stated with some irritation in her voice.
Knox was about to say something, but was stopped as Liam asked while keeping his gaze on Chad, “Let me ask you guys something.”
Waylon and Knox turned to look at him.
“If I said I wouldn’t join your guys’ party unless you kicked him out…would you guys do it?” Liam inquired.
Knox and Waylon didn’t respond. They looked like they wanted to say something, but instead remained silent.
“Just like I thought,” Liam said with some disappointment in his tone.
“Of course they wouldn’t,” Chad smiled wickedly, looking like he just won a battle. “Why would they toss out a damn good healer for…what? A rogue?”
“Not a rogue,” Liam snapped back.
“If not a rogue then what?” Chad questioned.
“I’m a Crafter,” Liam stated.
Knox and the others stared at Liam. Confusion grew on Cindy’s face as she stared at him after hearing his words. No one said anything. Liam wasn’t sure if it was because they didn’t hear him or if they were trying to figure out what to say.
After a few seconds passed, Chad let out a laugh. “Of course you would be. That only increases my earlier statement. If a party had to choose between having a Healer, someone totally essential during a fight and a Crafter, someone who isn’t even a combat oriented class…of course they’d pick the healer. Too bad for you. However… I can be the bigger person and allow you to join our party if you agreed to work on our equipment for free. Maybe supply us with potions since that would be the only good thing you’d be worth.”
Liam’s eyes narrowed. Before he could make any remarks, he finally heard Knox say something.
“I’m sorry Liam…,” Knox started. The tone of his voice was apologetic and hesitant. “We can’t have someone who doesn’t have a combat orient class join the party.”
Liam turned to look at him. He could see both Knox and Waylon were avoiding looking at him.
“We can have you as a support member, but not as a party member who can enter dungeons,” Waylon clarified, still not looking at him.
Liam wasn’t sure how they would respond. He knew his question was out of line to begin with. To ask to choose between a friend and someone who had a class that was useful when taking on dungeons…it was a childish thing to ask. However, it didn’t stop him from doing it.
Somewhere deep within him, he felt that maybe his friends would at least say something along the lines that it didn’t matter. That maybe they would say that they didn’t care about his class and they would still have him regardless of what others thought.
What he didn’t expect was the looks they currently had. Like he was someone who couldn’t experience what they did on a daily basis. Like his class was one that was totally useless.
They are writing me off. Liam thought as he stared at them. They are acting like I don’t have what it takes to hold my own in a fight. That if I entered a dungeon I wouldn’t be able to keep up with them or anyone else.
He knew he could hold his own in a fight. He proved that when taking on the Tutorial Dungeon with his old teammates.
That thought made him think of Ariyana, Artem, Avery, Blair, Mercer, and Roman. If they were here and heard this… Liam started to think, but then shook his head stopping the thought process.
He knew they would speak up. Stop these guys from thinking he was useless. That his only worth was to tend to their equipment or be a potion producing machine for them. However, the truth was they weren’t here. They were who knows where doing whatever they want. Their teaming up might have started in the Tutorial Area, but it essentially ended there as well.
This was a big world. They could have formed teams and started making new connections with new people. These thoughts sunk in, making Liam see his situation in a new light.
“I’m sorry, but…,” Liam started as he took a deep breath in, trying to hold back the emotions that started to swirl inside him.
“You guys are so stupid,” Cindy suddenly stated. “Especially you Elf.”
Everyone turned to look at her. Some had completely forgotten she was there since she had remained silent during their entire conversation.
Chad narrowed his eyes. “What makes you say that cat.”
Cindy narrowed her eyes at him. “I’d be careful what you say. Did you forget where you’re at?”
Chad looked around and suddenly remembered that there were other beast-kins around and that he was essentially in their territory.
Before he could reply, Cindy started back up, “You’re making a mistake looking down on crafters.” She then looked at Liam and added, “Liam, you don’t need to lower yourself to being a support member to a haughty good for nothing blowhard or their party.”
“I agree,” Mila stated as she gave Cindy a smile.
“What did you just say?” Chad questioned as his face started to redden.
“You heard me,” Cindy stated, her face hardened with resolve. She then stood up and added, “Liam, you don’t need their pity nor their sympathy. Go ahead and step outside, I’m going to get our food to go. I’ll meet you outside.”
“Alright,” Liam said as he stared at her. He was both confused and surprised by her outburst.
As he started to walk away, Waylon suddenly said, “Liam…”
Liam turned to look at him. He could see the emotions warring inside of him as he tried to figure out what to say.
“Are you sure you about this?” Waylon finally said.
Liam regarded him. He then nodded as he said, “I am…I don’t plan on being reduced to being someone’s, anyone’s personal product maker. Even if they are my friends.”
Before anyone could say anything else, he made his way to the door.
Gimmel watched as Liam made his way to the door. After coming to a decision, he slide the backpack off and followed.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Standing far in the back of the room, a person watched as Liam walked outside. Anger stirred within this person. They clamped down on it, trying not to allow the emotion to overwhelm them.
They knew that emotion would not do any good for them, especially since it was one they weren’t tied to. Allowing themselves to let that emotion take control would only cause trouble to their plans and destroy all the work they had put into place after all these years.
However, the feeling they felt for that brief moment had caused the storm both in their mind and blood to run wild. The urge to kill was strong. To kill the one who had committed a terrible sin.
They took a deep breath in, trying to calm themselves. After a few breaths they were finally able to calm their mind and blood. It wasn’t completely gone though, for this feeling that had sprouted was one that could only be remedied through the death of the sinner. But they wouldn’t make a move…not yet at least. They had a job to do. And do it they shall without any blunder or mistakes.
Their target was on the move now. Now that they were on the move, they too needed to move. To report what they had learned and make plans and adjustments to where it was needed. They will take care of that now. However, after that…after that they will see what they can do to correct the evil that was happening.
